Lost in the Smokies?

The News Sentinel is kicking off a missing person series by profiling the case of Dennis Martin. Dennis was 6 years old when he ran along Spence Field in the Smokies. He disappeared into the brush on June 14, 1960 and was never seen again.Read the full story.

This video also encapsulates the story well:

Have any of you gotten lost before? Or lost other members of your party in the mountains? What have you done to get found or find your party?

Old timers used the full moon for walking in the mountains after dark. I've never been lost.....just misplaced for a couple of hours. I think the Martin boy was kidnaped or a bear/hog/panther/ got him after dark. Was so sad for the family.

I think he fell into the stream on the NC side of Spence Field and got pinned under brush ("strainers") and drowned. I believe he was under debris the whole time. That is why he was never found. At dark it began to rain heavily and over the course of the next few days the creek was high.